Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Sweep Badgers in Exhilarating OT Win
12/8/2019 9:57:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – It was a game that had a little bit of everything:
Goals, hits, quality shots, a fast pace, comebacks, highs and lows for both teams, a gem of a third period and an overtime.
And in the end, it was ecstasy for one team and heartbreak for another on a fun Saturday night at Munn Arena.
What Michigan State loved best was the ending – Patrick Khodorenko's rocket-like shot from the left circle to the top right corner of the net 2:30 into overtime that gave the Spartans a 5-4 victory over No. 19 Wisconsin and a sweep of the Big Ten series.
Down 3-1 after two periods, the resilient Spartans battled back to tie the game and take with lead with three straight goals.
Down 4-3 with their goaltender pulled for a sixth attacker, the Badgers battled back to tie it with 20.2 seconds left and spoil MSU's hopes for a regulation victory.
But the goal didn't faze the Spartans. They didn't set back in overtime, and their No. 1 line, which has been in a goal and points drought in recent weeks, capped off a strong performance with the game winner. Khodorenko rifled a shot past Wisconsin goalie Jack Berry and ignited a wild celebration in the corner.
Meanwhile, the dejected Badgers had to be wondering "what do we have to do to beat these guys.''
"I was definitely entertained. This will be fun to watch back. People got their money's worth tonight,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "It was up-and-down. There were a lot of good hits and good goals. And we won, even better.''
Khodorenko's line with Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba accounted for all five MSU goals, although Saliba's goal – which tied it 3-3 midway through the third period - was scored shorthanded with his penalty-killing pals.
Both Lewandowski and Khodorenko had two goals and an assist and Saliba also had an assist and was on the ice for four of MSU's five goals.
"It's always tough when they come back and score to tie it, but we just had to be steady and play our game,'' said Khodorenko, who ended a six-game goal drought. "We didn't back off in overtime. We made plays and it paid off in the end.
"That was fun. It's a great feeling and hopefully the fans enjoyed it and we can get another two huge wins at home next weekend.''
With the victory, Michigan State (8-7-1, 6-3-1) climbed into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with No. 7/8 Ohio State (10-4-2, 6-3-1), each with 19 points, two behind first-place Penn State (21 points) and four ahead of fourth-place Notre Dame (15 points), which has two games in hand on every other team in the league.
Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Spartans tied it on Khodorenko's goal - who fired in his own rebound – at 1:24 of the second period, six seconds after an MSU power play expired.
But the Badgers' (7-10-1, 2-7-1-1) standout freshman right wing, Cole Caufield, scored back-to-back goals at 9:54 and 17:33 to give his team a 3-1 lead.
The Spartans' comeback started early in the third period. Lewandowski got the crowd back into the game when he beat Berry with a wrist shot from the left circle to the far corner at 2:48. The noise level in the building went even higher when Saliba knocked the puck loose along the right boards and skated in alone and slipped the puck between Berry's legs to tie it at 7:11.
Six minutes later, another Lewandowski shot found its way into the net. He let go with a wrister from 30 feet out between the circles that went off Berry's shoulder and into the net to give MSU a 4-3 lead with 6:32 left.
The Spartans played solid defense for the next six minutes, but Wisconsin capitalized when puck was almost cleared out of the MSU zone but was saved by defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk. He moved into the left circle, drove to the net and fired the puck past goalie John Lethemon to tie it, 4-4, with 20.2 seconds left.
The Spartans outshot the Badgers 4-1 in overtime with the fourth shot ending up in the back of the net.
"That was exciting. (Assistant coach Chris Luongo) an I were standing in the tunnel at the end and saying that's a different type of excitement,'' Cole said. "Winning 3-0 is a nice feeling but (with this), you go through the third period down 3-1 and come storming back. And at the height of emotion, the puck's about five feet from coming out (of the zone) and it turns around and ends up in the back of our net.
"Then we find ourselves in overtime and what a play by Patrick Khodorenko. He's been really good lately but it hasn't shown up point-wide. But he's made some really big plays for us, and that was good to see.''
Khodorenko's game winner was set up by a cross-ice pass from Lewandowski in the right circle to Khodorenko in the left circle, after Lewandowski got the puck from defenseman Dennis Cesana.
"We had some time above the top of the circles and I was calling for it and Lewie saw me and made a great pass,'' Khodorenko said. "I don't know if (the pass) went through (the defender's) stick or around it. Denny was back door but I kind of pulled it back, and with the defenseman coming at me, shot it far side.''
Said Lewandowski, "Dennis gave me a good pass I just tried to zip it over to Khodo. I knew he would be over on that side. That's kind of his power-play spot. I got it through and he made the play. That was beautiful.''
Lethemon, who was brilliant on Friday in MSUs 3-0 win, gave up four goals Saturday but was still lauded by his coach.
"I know Johnny is probably not happy giving up four. But he played a darn good game tonight,'' Cole said. "Sometimes, the number (of goals) against isn't reflective of how he played.''
Lethemon made 33 saves while Berry, making on his second start of the season, stopped 39 shots.
Wisconsin was 0-for-3 on the power play with only one shot on goal. MSU was 0-for-2 with six shots on goal. Khodorenko's goal came six seconds after Wisconsin's Ty Emberson left the penalty box.
Cole said the mood in the MSU dressing room between the second and third periods "wasn't a lot different than the day before when we were up 3-0.''
"The guys were ticked off because we made some mistakes on their goals and they make you pay, because they have the guys who can do that,'' he said. "It's really a group you don't have to rant and rave at. We just came in and said, 'hey, take a deep breath, we made some mistakes and let's forget about them and play the way we play,' and third periods are good for us.
"There wasn't a lot of hooting and hollering. It was 'we're going to get this down and they believe it. That's a huge thing for this team.''
The sweep was Michigan State's second in the Big Ten in less than a month. In mid-November, the Spartans won two against Michigan – a rally that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win and a 3-0 blanking of the Wolverines at Munn Arena.
"It's not quite the first half of the league season but this puts us in a good spot,'' Cole said. "It's hard to get six-point weekends. We've got two of them now and that really jumps you up.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans have one more series before the holiday break. They play host to No. 20 Arizona State at 7 p.m. next Friday and Saturday. But before that, MSU players will be taking final exams this week.
The Sun Devils, playing at home, upset No. 4/4 Denver, 4-1, on Friday before the teams played to a 2-2 tie on Saturday.
The Spartans close out the 2019 part of the schedule with two games in the annual Great Lakes Invitational at Little Caesar's Arena. MSU opens the tournament against Michigan Tech at 1 p.m., Dec. 30, and will play either Michigan or Ferris State in the championship game or third-place game on Dec. 31.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin won't play a regular-season game until the second weekend in January. But the Badgers will play an exhibition game on Dec. 31 against the U.S. Under-18 team at USA Arena in Plymouth.
BIG LINE IS BACK: Michigan State's top forward line of Patrick Khodorenko, Mitchell Lewandowski and now, co-captain Sam Saliba has been playing well for the last few weeks, but just didn't have the scoring touch as it's had in the past.
On Saturday, the scoring touch came back as the three players contributed all five goals, including three in the third period and one in overtime.
Khodorenko and Lewandowski each had two goals and one assist. Saliba scored shorthanded and collected an assist.
Lewandowski had a team-high seven shots on goal while Khodorenko had five and Saliba two.
Khodorenko had gone six games without a goal or assist. His last points came against Michigan, Nov. 16 when he scored two goals to help complete MSU's first sweep of the season. Lewandowski had only one goal and no assists in the last seven games
"We've had a cold streak points-wide but we've been playing the right way, playing hard and getting pucks on net," Khodorenko said. "Our other lines have been contributing so that was nice. We were able to put the puck in tonight and that was an awesome third period from everyone.
"Lewie made two great shots and we stuck it out and kept battling.''
"One thing we did well was not get frustrated. Even yesterday we thought we played a good game,'' Lewandowski said of the line's lack of points. "The three of us were talking, saying that the points will come. And it showed tonight.
Saliba was teamed with Khodorenko and Lewandowski for the first time since the first game of the Cornell series, Nov. 1. He also played one game with Khodorenko and freshman Nico Mueller.
"I thought we had just as good of a game last night, if not better, and had nothing to show for it,'' Saliba said. "That's how the game goes sometimes. We stuck with it, kept pushing and got rewarded.''
Saliba, who had three goals in the Notre Dame series two weeks ago, has four goals and four assists for eight points in 16 games.
Khodorenko still leads the Spartans in scoring with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points. Lewandowski has five goals and six assists for 11 points.
"Lewie's first goal was big. That gave us a shot in the arm,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said of Lewandowski's goal early in the second period that cut the Spartan deficit to 3-2.
"Good for Lewie. He played a really good game yesterday and didn't get a goal out of it, but got a couple tonight and that's great for him and for us.
"(That line) has dominated a lot of games lately but just not on the scoresheet. But getting them rolling, we need that and we'll need them as games get tighter and tighter.''
SPARTAN POTPOURRI: MSU's 6-3-1 record 10 games into conference play is the Spartans' best since Big Ten hockey was formed in 2013-14. With at least one win or two ties next weekend against Arizona State, Michigan State will head into the holiday break with an above .500 overall record. The last time the Spartans were over. 500 just before Christmas was in 2009-2010 when they started 12-5-2…
Goalie John Lethemon made 33 saves and gave up four goals on Saturday. He faced 19 shots from two the Badgers' best players – freshman right wing Cole Caufield had 12 shots on goal, scoring on two of those shots. Wyatt Kalynuk, a junior defenseman, had seven shots on goal but Lethemon stopped them all. . .
The last time Michigan State won a game in overtime was two seasons ago – a 3-2 win at Munn Arena on Nov. 17, 2017. Taro Hirose scored in overtime to win it for the Spartans.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 6/6 Penn State salvaged a series split at Michigan on Saturday with a 3-1 victory on Saturday. The Nittany Lions (12-5-0, 7-3-0) built a 2-0 lead with two goals late in the first period. The Wolverines (6-10-2, 2-7-1-0) cut it to 2-1 with a goal early in the second period, but couldn't solve goalie Peyton Jones (42 saves) the rest of the way. A late empty-net goal sealed the win for Penn State. Michigan won the series opener, 4-1, on Friday.
No. 7/8 Ohio State and Minnesota played to a 1-1 tie on Saturday with the Gophers (5-9-4, 2-4-4-3) earning the extra point in the conference standings with a 3-on-3 overtime goal. The Buckeyes (10-4-2, 6-3-1-0) topped the Gophers, 3-2 in overtime, on Friday.
In a non-conference series, No. 9/10 Notre Dame was blanked by No. 10/8 Boston College, 4-0, on Friday in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The teams conclude the home-and-home series at 5 p.m. today in Notre Dame, Ind.
Next weekend, Penn State is at Notre Dame in the only conference series. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State are off until after Christmas.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – It was a game that had a little bit of everything:
Goals, hits, quality shots, a fast pace, comebacks, highs and lows for both teams, a gem of a third period and an overtime.
And in the end, it was ecstasy for one team and heartbreak for another on a fun Saturday night at Munn Arena.
What Michigan State loved best was the ending – Patrick Khodorenko's rocket-like shot from the left circle to the top right corner of the net 2:30 into overtime that gave the Spartans a 5-4 victory over No. 19 Wisconsin and a sweep of the Big Ten series.
Down 3-1 after two periods, the resilient Spartans battled back to tie the game and take with lead with three straight goals.
Down 4-3 with their goaltender pulled for a sixth attacker, the Badgers battled back to tie it with 20.2 seconds left and spoil MSU's hopes for a regulation victory.
But the goal didn't faze the Spartans. They didn't set back in overtime, and their No. 1 line, which has been in a goal and points drought in recent weeks, capped off a strong performance with the game winner. Khodorenko rifled a shot past Wisconsin goalie Jack Berry and ignited a wild celebration in the corner.
Meanwhile, the dejected Badgers had to be wondering "what do we have to do to beat these guys.''
"I was definitely entertained. This will be fun to watch back. People got their money's worth tonight,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "It was up-and-down. There were a lot of good hits and good goals. And we won, even better.''
Khodorenko's line with Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba accounted for all five MSU goals, although Saliba's goal – which tied it 3-3 midway through the third period - was scored shorthanded with his penalty-killing pals.
Both Lewandowski and Khodorenko had two goals and an assist and Saliba also had an assist and was on the ice for four of MSU's five goals.
"It's always tough when they come back and score to tie it, but we just had to be steady and play our game,'' said Khodorenko, who ended a six-game goal drought. "We didn't back off in overtime. We made plays and it paid off in the end.
"That was fun. It's a great feeling and hopefully the fans enjoyed it and we can get another two huge wins at home next weekend.''
With the victory, Michigan State (8-7-1, 6-3-1) climbed into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with No. 7/8 Ohio State (10-4-2, 6-3-1), each with 19 points, two behind first-place Penn State (21 points) and four ahead of fourth-place Notre Dame (15 points), which has two games in hand on every other team in the league.
Trailing 1-0 after one period, the Spartans tied it on Khodorenko's goal - who fired in his own rebound – at 1:24 of the second period, six seconds after an MSU power play expired.
But the Badgers' (7-10-1, 2-7-1-1) standout freshman right wing, Cole Caufield, scored back-to-back goals at 9:54 and 17:33 to give his team a 3-1 lead.
The Spartans' comeback started early in the third period. Lewandowski got the crowd back into the game when he beat Berry with a wrist shot from the left circle to the far corner at 2:48. The noise level in the building went even higher when Saliba knocked the puck loose along the right boards and skated in alone and slipped the puck between Berry's legs to tie it at 7:11.
Six minutes later, another Lewandowski shot found its way into the net. He let go with a wrister from 30 feet out between the circles that went off Berry's shoulder and into the net to give MSU a 4-3 lead with 6:32 left.
The Spartans played solid defense for the next six minutes, but Wisconsin capitalized when puck was almost cleared out of the MSU zone but was saved by defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk. He moved into the left circle, drove to the net and fired the puck past goalie John Lethemon to tie it, 4-4, with 20.2 seconds left.
The Spartans outshot the Badgers 4-1 in overtime with the fourth shot ending up in the back of the net.
"That was exciting. (Assistant coach Chris Luongo) an I were standing in the tunnel at the end and saying that's a different type of excitement,'' Cole said. "Winning 3-0 is a nice feeling but (with this), you go through the third period down 3-1 and come storming back. And at the height of emotion, the puck's about five feet from coming out (of the zone) and it turns around and ends up in the back of our net.
"Then we find ourselves in overtime and what a play by Patrick Khodorenko. He's been really good lately but it hasn't shown up point-wide. But he's made some really big plays for us, and that was good to see.''
Khodorenko's game winner was set up by a cross-ice pass from Lewandowski in the right circle to Khodorenko in the left circle, after Lewandowski got the puck from defenseman Dennis Cesana.
"We had some time above the top of the circles and I was calling for it and Lewie saw me and made a great pass,'' Khodorenko said. "I don't know if (the pass) went through (the defender's) stick or around it. Denny was back door but I kind of pulled it back, and with the defenseman coming at me, shot it far side.''
Said Lewandowski, "Dennis gave me a good pass I just tried to zip it over to Khodo. I knew he would be over on that side. That's kind of his power-play spot. I got it through and he made the play. That was beautiful.''
Lethemon, who was brilliant on Friday in MSUs 3-0 win, gave up four goals Saturday but was still lauded by his coach.
"I know Johnny is probably not happy giving up four. But he played a darn good game tonight,'' Cole said. "Sometimes, the number (of goals) against isn't reflective of how he played.''
Lethemon made 33 saves while Berry, making on his second start of the season, stopped 39 shots.
Wisconsin was 0-for-3 on the power play with only one shot on goal. MSU was 0-for-2 with six shots on goal. Khodorenko's goal came six seconds after Wisconsin's Ty Emberson left the penalty box.
Cole said the mood in the MSU dressing room between the second and third periods "wasn't a lot different than the day before when we were up 3-0.''
"The guys were ticked off because we made some mistakes on their goals and they make you pay, because they have the guys who can do that,'' he said. "It's really a group you don't have to rant and rave at. We just came in and said, 'hey, take a deep breath, we made some mistakes and let's forget about them and play the way we play,' and third periods are good for us.
"There wasn't a lot of hooting and hollering. It was 'we're going to get this down and they believe it. That's a huge thing for this team.''
The sweep was Michigan State's second in the Big Ten in less than a month. In mid-November, the Spartans won two against Michigan – a rally that turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win and a 3-0 blanking of the Wolverines at Munn Arena.
"It's not quite the first half of the league season but this puts us in a good spot,'' Cole said. "It's hard to get six-point weekends. We've got two of them now and that really jumps you up.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans have one more series before the holiday break. They play host to No. 20 Arizona State at 7 p.m. next Friday and Saturday. But before that, MSU players will be taking final exams this week.
The Sun Devils, playing at home, upset No. 4/4 Denver, 4-1, on Friday before the teams played to a 2-2 tie on Saturday.
The Spartans close out the 2019 part of the schedule with two games in the annual Great Lakes Invitational at Little Caesar's Arena. MSU opens the tournament against Michigan Tech at 1 p.m., Dec. 30, and will play either Michigan or Ferris State in the championship game or third-place game on Dec. 31.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin won't play a regular-season game until the second weekend in January. But the Badgers will play an exhibition game on Dec. 31 against the U.S. Under-18 team at USA Arena in Plymouth.
BIG LINE IS BACK: Michigan State's top forward line of Patrick Khodorenko, Mitchell Lewandowski and now, co-captain Sam Saliba has been playing well for the last few weeks, but just didn't have the scoring touch as it's had in the past.
On Saturday, the scoring touch came back as the three players contributed all five goals, including three in the third period and one in overtime.
Khodorenko and Lewandowski each had two goals and one assist. Saliba scored shorthanded and collected an assist.
Lewandowski had a team-high seven shots on goal while Khodorenko had five and Saliba two.
Khodorenko had gone six games without a goal or assist. His last points came against Michigan, Nov. 16 when he scored two goals to help complete MSU's first sweep of the season. Lewandowski had only one goal and no assists in the last seven games
"We've had a cold streak points-wide but we've been playing the right way, playing hard and getting pucks on net," Khodorenko said. "Our other lines have been contributing so that was nice. We were able to put the puck in tonight and that was an awesome third period from everyone.
"Lewie made two great shots and we stuck it out and kept battling.''
"One thing we did well was not get frustrated. Even yesterday we thought we played a good game,'' Lewandowski said of the line's lack of points. "The three of us were talking, saying that the points will come. And it showed tonight.
Saliba was teamed with Khodorenko and Lewandowski for the first time since the first game of the Cornell series, Nov. 1. He also played one game with Khodorenko and freshman Nico Mueller.
"I thought we had just as good of a game last night, if not better, and had nothing to show for it,'' Saliba said. "That's how the game goes sometimes. We stuck with it, kept pushing and got rewarded.''
Saliba, who had three goals in the Notre Dame series two weeks ago, has four goals and four assists for eight points in 16 games.
Khodorenko still leads the Spartans in scoring with eight goals and eight assists for 16 points. Lewandowski has five goals and six assists for 11 points.
"Lewie's first goal was big. That gave us a shot in the arm,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said of Lewandowski's goal early in the second period that cut the Spartan deficit to 3-2.
"Good for Lewie. He played a really good game yesterday and didn't get a goal out of it, but got a couple tonight and that's great for him and for us.
"(That line) has dominated a lot of games lately but just not on the scoresheet. But getting them rolling, we need that and we'll need them as games get tighter and tighter.''
SPARTAN POTPOURRI: MSU's 6-3-1 record 10 games into conference play is the Spartans' best since Big Ten hockey was formed in 2013-14. With at least one win or two ties next weekend against Arizona State, Michigan State will head into the holiday break with an above .500 overall record. The last time the Spartans were over. 500 just before Christmas was in 2009-2010 when they started 12-5-2…
Goalie John Lethemon made 33 saves and gave up four goals on Saturday. He faced 19 shots from two the Badgers' best players – freshman right wing Cole Caufield had 12 shots on goal, scoring on two of those shots. Wyatt Kalynuk, a junior defenseman, had seven shots on goal but Lethemon stopped them all. . .
The last time Michigan State won a game in overtime was two seasons ago – a 3-2 win at Munn Arena on Nov. 17, 2017. Taro Hirose scored in overtime to win it for the Spartans.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 6/6 Penn State salvaged a series split at Michigan on Saturday with a 3-1 victory on Saturday. The Nittany Lions (12-5-0, 7-3-0) built a 2-0 lead with two goals late in the first period. The Wolverines (6-10-2, 2-7-1-0) cut it to 2-1 with a goal early in the second period, but couldn't solve goalie Peyton Jones (42 saves) the rest of the way. A late empty-net goal sealed the win for Penn State. Michigan won the series opener, 4-1, on Friday.
No. 7/8 Ohio State and Minnesota played to a 1-1 tie on Saturday with the Gophers (5-9-4, 2-4-4-3) earning the extra point in the conference standings with a 3-on-3 overtime goal. The Buckeyes (10-4-2, 6-3-1-0) topped the Gophers, 3-2 in overtime, on Friday.
In a non-conference series, No. 9/10 Notre Dame was blanked by No. 10/8 Boston College, 4-0, on Friday in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The teams conclude the home-and-home series at 5 p.m. today in Notre Dame, Ind.
Next weekend, Penn State is at Notre Dame in the only conference series. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State are off until after Christmas.
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